A Land of Hard Edges: Serving the Front Lines of the Border

In her book, “A Land Of Hard Edges,” Peg Bowden captures the spirit of our migrant population as well as that of the volunteers who strive to make their journey a humane one. Her stories break our hearts, incite our rage and beg for action.I was lucky enough to visit the Comedor (a place of refuge for migrants), meet the migrants and the Samaritans (volunteers), observe the rituals, serve food, hear stories and then come home to read Bowden’s book.She humanizes the great controversy and political quagmire of immigration reform and illuminates for us the real political and economic agenda behind it.I liked that the book was organized by seasons in the desert. I learned more about the desert and its hardships, especially in relation to its frequent travelers.Her writing is clear, crisp and knowledgeable. She knows from which she speaks. The pictures, all affectionate in nature, remind me of a family album.Her stories define the plight of the migrant—individual and family stories. The migrant is our neighbor, co-worker, classmate of our children, our employee. Do we know the truth of their struggles? Do we care enough? Read "A Land of Hard Edges." Be informed. Get involved.

Peg Bowden, a retired nurse from Oregon, moves back to southern Arizona where she grew up and begins volunteering at a migrant shelter in Mexican Nogales. Here, she finds herself drawn into the humanitarian crisis that is happening daily on the US/Mexican border.The gross injustices, suffering, and personal stories of immigrants and deportees that have heretofore been borne in silence and anonymity are relayed in a direct and compassionate manner without scolding or preaching. Peg introduces us to the people who run the Comedor, the people who volunteer there, and most of all, to the people who pass through it on their journeys northward or southward.Peg's book takes an issue that is highly charged politically and debated ad nauseam and presents its most often overlooked, yet I feel its most important, side.Novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux writes the wonderful forward. I highly recommend this book.

Thank goodness there are people like Peg Bowden who soften this Land of Hard Edges. It will take only a few moments to look at the front and back covers as well as read the Amazon preview which includes well-deserved praises and a comment from a Guatemalan man which has left a permanent lump in my throat.If that hasn’t hooked you, Amazon also lets you see an excellent Forward, Peg’s Introduction with which we all can identify. And part of Chapter 1 where she begins to do what most of us don’t.This book is well written and organized. Through smiles and tears you will learn the human part of immigration.(To see more of Peg Bowden’s stories, read her blog.)

Peg Bowden’s small book of stories and reflections enlightens, breaks your heart, challenges beliefs and may spur one to action. It shows a slice of life on the border through the eyes of the travelers and the eyes of the Samaritans. The universal need for food, shelter, safety and family becomes the driving force that places migrants in desperate situations and compels Samaritans to assist. With a measured voice that speaks with wisdom, compassion, and humility, Peg makes one quickly grasp the plight of the pilgrims. She uses the seasons, beauty and harshness of the desert, and the richness of culture as a backdrop for the stories. The photographs add richness to the story.

This is a very personal account that gives a window into the harsh conditions faced by immigrant workers forced to cross through the No Man's Land of the Sonoran Desert, the dehumanizing "justice" system that processes them like cattle, the private prison industry that incarcerates them for trying to make a better life for their families, and what it's like to witness their suffering and determination as a volunteer at the border. Good read.

I couldn't read this at one go. I had to settle on a chapter at a time. My blood pressure would rise and I'd become furious with my government and the Border Patrol. After I calmed down, I could read another chapter. Some of the stories are so sad I'd tear up. What a great read.

You will gain an understanding on what is happening on the border. It is not a geopolitical treatment of the border situation, but a humanity approach. You will lean how a few volunteers are making a change in just working with people. It is the compassion of the volunteers that comes through in the book. It is a story of people and and that all men were dedicated to being equal. This is not a judgement book or an analytical view of what is the solution.

With the activity on the border this summer, this book is an very good way to provide some background and insight. Peg Bowden is an excellent writer, and her stories are touching and interesting. She sheds some light on why people make this dangerous crossing and why this migration is not going to stop because of any amount of militarization of the border. Great descriptions of the desert and the heat, and the people who make the trip in spite of both. Read the book!